Be it Enacted by the People of the State of Mississippi:
SECTION 1. Article III of the constitution for the state of Mississippi is hereby amended BY THE ADDITION OF A NEW SECTION to read:
Section 33. Person defined. As used in this Article III of the state constitution, "The term "person" or "persons" shall include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the functional equivalent thereof."
This initiative shall not require any additional revenue for implementation.

Proposed Ballot Title:

Should the term “person” be defined to include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the equivalent thereof?

Proposed Ballot Summary:

Initiative #26 would amend the Mississippi Constitution to define the word “person” or “persons”, as those terms are used in Article III of the state constitution, to include every human being from the moment of fertilization, cloning, or the functional equivalent thereof.

The official ballot title and ballot summary for an initiative measure are prepared by the Mississippi Attorney General’s Office. Initiative measures are valid for one year. During this one-year period, a petition may be circulated to place the measure on the next statewide general election ballot to allow the voters of Mississippi to determine whether the measure should become a part of the Mississippi Constitution. According to Mississippi law, for an initiative measure to be placed on the ballot, a minimum of 107,216 certified signatures must be gathered, with at least 21,443 certified signatures from each of the five congressional districts as they existed in the year 2000. This required number of signatures represents twelve percent (12%) of the total number of votes cast for Governor in the last gubernatorial general election. Signatures must be certified by county circuit clerks as belonging to registered voters in Mississippi. A completed petition should be filed with Secretary of State, together with a filing fee of $500.00. For more information on the initiative process in Mississippi, consult the Mississippi Constitution of 1890, Section 273, and Mississippi Code Annotated §§ 23-17-1 through 23-17-61 (1972).